


Choices, Mistakes and Love in Space

by Princesjules



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam (mentioned) - Freeform, Alpha Keith (Voltron), Alpha Shiro (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Adam, Beta Hunk (Voltron), Beta Pidge | Katie Holt, Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Lotor (Mentioned) - Freeform, Lotors generals (mentioned), M/M, Mostly Cannon Compliant, Multi, Omega Lance (Voltron), Omega Matt Holt, Sam Holt (Mentioned) - Freeform, Thace (mentioned) - Freeform, Ulaz (mentioned) - Freeform, heat - Freeform, non-sexual heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-25 16:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22138852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princesjules/pseuds/Princesjules
Summary: It didn’t start as a crush. It started so much simpler. The Kerberos mission was something Lance could have only dreamt of. An Omega as the Science Officer amazed Lance. He wanted to be part of an important mission, like Matthew Holt, but he wanted to be a pilot like Shiro.He idolized the crew, probably more than was healthy, but it was something that was so close yet so far away. He was just a cadet, and he was barely hanging on there.Being a part of the Galaxy Garrison already was something Lance had worked so hard to accomplish. Being an Omega himself no one believed in him. It took suppressants and scent blockers to give him a fighting chance. Pretending to be a Beta got him in the door, gave him a chance to prove he was worth taking a chance on. Most Omega’s weren’t even given a chance, but Lance wanted to make that chance for himself.People still believed that Omega’s were meant to be home bodies and had no place in the working world. Doubly so at the Garrison. It was Matt’s mind that got him through and Lance knew he didn’t have that brilliance to stand out beyond his status.
Relationships: Keith/Lance/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 230





	Choices, Mistakes and Love in Space

**Author's Note:**

> This work was a part of the Voltronabobang that began last January. It has been a long time coming and I am glad to present this piece for you all. 
> 
> Through the bang I got to collaborate with @Anidragoncreate on twitter and they made a wonderful piece of art to accompany the fic. It is the softest thing in the world and it makes me so happy
> 
> https://twitter.com/AniDragonCreate/status/1213996745191034881?s=20

It didn’t start as a crush. It started so much simpler. The Kerberos mission was something Lance could have only dreamt of. An Omega as the Science Officer amazed Lance. He wanted to be part of an important mission, like Matthew Holt, but he wanted to be a pilot like Shiro.

He idolized the crew, probably more than was healthy, but it was something that was so close yet so far away. He was just a cadet, and he was barely hanging on there.

Being a part of the Galaxy Garrison already was something Lance had worked so hard to accomplish. Being an Omega himself no one believed in him. It took suppressants and scent blockers to give him a fighting chance. Pretending to be a Beta got him in the door, gave him a chance to prove he was worth taking a chance on. Most Omega’s weren’t even given a chance, but Lance wanted to make that chance for himself.

People still believed that Omega’s were meant to be home bodies and had no place in the working world. Doubly so at the Garrison. It was Matt’s mind that got him through and Lance knew he didn’t have that brilliance to stand out beyond his status.

Once at the Garrison he met a fiery force that pushed him harder. Keith. The alpha became his motivation. Keith was the top of their class, and Lance wanted to beat him. Wanted to be able to prove everyone wrong, prove that an Omega could out perform an Alpha if given the chance. Except, it was not enough. It was never enough. He didn’t make it into the fighter pilot class, and that was hard to bare, but he never gave up.

Eventually, through a series of strange events, he ended up in space with one of his hero’s and his self proclaimed rival. It all happened so fast that first day, first few days. Suddenly he was a part of a war he had no business being in. Shielding an alien he had grown to care for from an explosion set off by alien technology. He didn’t understand how that all happened, but he did know one thing.

Stumbling out of the pod after healing from the explosion, the first thing he caught was his own scent. Stronger than he had smelled it in years. Days of being confined in a small space without his suppressants and scent blockers. He thought the jig would be up and everyone would know he had been lying. He feared they would fall to stereotypes and believed he would be kicked off the team for not being up to the task of saving the universe.

Except, no one was paying attention to him. They were all gathered around Pidge and Coran and two pieces of technology. They were counting tick against seconds. He had a chance.

“You guys having a clock party?” He asked as he stumbled up behind Hunk.

“Aw, Lance you just ruined it,” Hunk retorted immediately, an automatic response from years of rooming with Lance at the Garrison. The next second he realized what was actually going on and crushed Lance in a hug. “Hey Lance.”

“What happened?” Lance asked, leaning against Hunk to keep him on his feet.

Allura put her hand on Lance’s shoulder and said; “We can tell you all about it while you get something to eat. Are you able to walk?”

“Talking? Eating? Are you asking me out on a date?” Lance retorted and everyone groaned stepping away from the omega. He hoped it would be enough of a distraction to keep them from noticing the scent – his scent.

Hunk kept an arm around Lance and helped him walk from the pod room. Everyone else moved quickly ahead of them and that was intentional. For one, Lance was shaky on his legs and for another Hunk had something to ask.

“Hey, your scent is pretty strong. Strong enough that even my nose can smell it,” Hunk said.

“Must be the pod. Strange alien technology,” Lance said, trying to play it off and doing so very poorly.

“I don’t buy it. Not with everything I’ve seen rooming with you. You’re an Omega Lance, but why hide it?”

“I wouldn’t have gotten a second look with the Garrison if they knew what I was. And, please don’t tell the others. I want to prove to them that I deserve to be here, just like the rest of you.”

“Go at your own pace, but keep in mind you were already a pilot before we got here. Pidge and I are not. Yet we’re here and no matter what, we’re part of this war now. Whether we like it or not,” Hunk said.

Time passed and the war went on. They fought and won many battles, but the war still raged on. Lance had suppressants but not enough to keep his truth hidden forever. Two weeks in, he went to Coran, begging him to try to make him more and to not tell the others. There was not enough time. Things were moving too quickly.

He did what he could with their limited supplies. Unfortunately they did not have anything they needed to effectively replace the drugs. After all they had just barely left Arus and most things on the castle ship were over 10,000 yeas old. Lance understood, recognizing the looming reality that he would need to come clean and tell everyone the truth, but he had time to figure that out. Or so he thought.

In the middle of a war time passed quickly. Far more quickly than Lance was ready for. Before he knew it Lance was down to just two days worth of medication and he was out of time. As it turned out being in the middle of an intergalactic war was not a great time to come off suppressants, it just so happened to be the worst.

“Hunk, I have a problem,” Lance said loudly as he walked into the kitchen.

“This isn’t new Lance. What’s up?” Hunk asked, keeping focused on whatever food he was preparing for dinner that evening, so they didn’t have to eat food goo.

“I’m out of suppressants, or will be soon. I’ve only got two days left and I’m not ready. What do I do?”

“Tell everyone the truth, before you run out and things break down. Give everyone a chance to prepare and give yourself time to get ready for coming down off of them,” Hunk said, turning away from what he was cooking to face Lance.

The Omega was scared. It wasn’t enough time. He hadn’t felt like he’d been able to prove himself yet. He wasn’t ready, but he had to be.

Seeing Lance’s fear Hunk pulled his friend into a hug. Lance had helped him get over his own fears of being in space and piloting the yellow lion. The least he could do was help his friend get through this.

“What are you like when you come off them? What has happened in the past?” Hunk asked, wanting to know where they were starting.

“I don’t know. Since I started taking them to get into the Garrison I’ve never come off them for more than a day or two,” Lance muttered, but being so close Hunk heard him clear enough.

“Lance, we were there for four years. How did you not come off them for four years? That’s not safe.” Hunk held Lance tighter, worried for his friends health after so long on the suppressants. The beta already knew the answer, it was the same reason Lance had lied to him before. He didn’t want to get caught.

Just as Hunk suspected, it was Lance’s fear of being found out. It was the perception of Omega’s that forced Lance to hide, which was just heartbreaking.

They stayed like that for a while. Hunk holding Lance close and quietly talking back and forth. By the end of it Lance had dried tear tracks down his cheeks and they had a plan. Despite what Lance wanted to do – keep the whole thing hidden from everyone and just hope nothing went wrong – they had a plan on how to tell the team.

Dinner that night was when they needed to have the talk with the team. If Pidge could share her truth, about lying to the Garrison, then so could Lance. It was just nerve-wracking.

That night at dinner Lance was silent. He kept out of the conversation, keeping his head down and poking his food more than eating it. He was nervous how everyone would react. Sure they had accepted Pidge, but that did nothing to ease Lance’s worries.

Somehow no one seemed to pick up on Lance’s mood. Well, Hunk did but he already knew what was going on, so he didn’t bring it up. Opting to wait for Lance to broach the topic, prepared to step in if by the end of the meal Lance had said nothing.

Everyone was finishing up their food and starting to take dishes to the kitchen to wash up. If they walked out Hunk knew Lance would never call them all back, so the beta took it upon himself to stat the ball rolling, like he warned Lance he would do.

“Wait. Before everyone goes Lance has something he wants to say to everyone,” Hunk said. Lance froze.

“Lance?” Allura asked, turning to the Omega, who was trying to hide inside his jacket.

“Um, I... uh,” Lance mumbled, unable to find the words he needed.

Everyone sat back down at the table and just stared at Lance, waiting for him to speak. The eyes on him made it so much harder for Lance to find his voice, something he usually didn’t have any trouble with.

“Come on Lance. Some of us have things we want to get to tonight,” Keith commented when nothing was said.

“I’m an Omega!” Lance blurted, before quickly covering his mouth as if he said something he shouldn’t have, even though it was what he was trying to. The next moment he covered his whole face with his hands and just wanted to crawl under the table.

“Really Lance? Why are you wasting our time with this?” Keith asked, annoyed with the whole situation; “Do you really need attention that badly that you’re going to pretend to be something you’re not? That’s low, even for you.”

“Keith,” Shiro said, clear he was skeptical of Lance’s words but knew Keith’s words were unwarranted.

Reaching into his pocket Lance pulled out his last two suppressants and threw the package onto the table. Being called out by Keith was not something he could stand for. He may have been lying for years – successfully lying about being a Beta – but having Keith try to call him out on his truth was a step too far.

“What is that Lance?” Allura asked, reaching out to grab the package.

“They’re suppressants,” Pidge answered, recognizing the package from when Matt had to use them. “Why did you hide it Lance?”

Lance just scoffed and shook his head, not looking up from his hands.

“You know what, never mind. I’m one to talk,” She said, grabbing the suppressants off the table and tucked them back into Lance’s pocket for him.

“Is that all you have left?” Shiro asked, having noticed only two pills were still inside the blister pack.

“Didn’t really plan on getting shot into space, and I’m not in the habit of carrying all my suppressants on me,” Lance said, finally looking up from his hands. Tears falling down his cheeks.

“Just let us know how we can help,” Shiro said, standing up and walking around the table to stand beside Lance. He put his hand on the Omega’s shoulder in reassurance that this would change nothing.

“Thank you,” Lance said, standing up and stretching. “I’m going to go lay down.”

Lance headed out of the dinning room and Hunk followed after him. Hunk gave Lance a hug once they were a little ways away from the group, then the omega headed for his room.

Back in the dining room Pidge quickly ducked out to go work on decoding Sendak’s memories. Unfortunately that had been taking far longer than they had all anticipated, despite the Altean technology she had to work with. Allura quickly excused herself as well and dragged Coran along with her, leaving Keith and Shiro.

Shiro was leaning against the back of the chair Lance had been sitting in and on the other side of the table Keith had taken a seat again. Both men were at a loss for what to say about the new knowledge. They had thought there were no omegas among them. Both had worries about what that meant for the castle they had started to call home, and how it would effect everything.

Even though Shiro was trying to be reassuring that nothing would change for Lance’s sake, he knew thing would have to change eventually.

“What are you thinking about?” Shiro asked after a few long minutes of silence.

“I’ve never spent time around a presented omega. And things seem so tenuous right now,” Keith said, just staring down at the table in front of him.

“It’s like being around anyone else. His scent is going to be far stronger though, and there’s a chance it will mess with your head. Just, keep doing what you have been and everything will be just fine,” Shiro assured, still not knowing what to make of everything.

“I should give him space. Until we figure things out,” Keith said, finally standing up and walking out the door.

Shiro lingered, unable to move from his spot behind Lance’s chair. He had to keep his head. Sure he’d been around Matt, but he was a friend and nothing more. Matt had always been on suppressants, even in space. He was nervous, because he’s never been around an Omega when they weren’t on something.

Everyone had finally gotten to a place where they were okay. They’d all found their place on the castle and found how they fit together. Shiro wanted things to remain the same, but he knew things would change, they had to. They needed to find their new status-quo and he hoped it would be quick, for the sake of the Galaxy.

Coming off his suppressants was, first and foremost, annoying. The first morning he woke up and couldn’t take them he felt like something was wrong. Something was missing from his routine and it felt odd. By the end of the day his scent was everywhere, all over him clinging to everything he touched. It felt wrong to smell so thickly of himself.

It was overpowering and Lance hated it. He showered three times trying to tone it down, but it did nothing. Well, nothing but make his skin feel raw from all the scrubbing.

The second day off the pills Lance was hungry. He knew the suppressants had been messing with his appetite for years, but he just got used to it. Especially because it made it far easier for him to loose the weight he held in his hips, the Omega softness. Hunk tried to keep up with Lance’s voracious appetite, but there was not enough food on the ship and he had to make sure there was food for everyone else. So, he started to just hand Lance bowls of food goo, which the Omega was more than happy to eat for once.

By the third day Lance was back to building a nest, and could not find enough stuff around the castle to make it perfect. That was the first time Lance turned to anyone but Hunk. He searched for Shiro, wanting the alpha’s help above all else.

The Omega quickly located Shiro, on the bridge with Allura and Coran. He didn’t want to interrupt, because they were no doubt talking about something important, but he also really wanted Shiro’s help. He stayed back by the door, waiting but not at all patiently. He was fidgeting and bouncing around while he waited.

Shiro noticed the second the door had opened up, but was busy so he figured whoever it was could wait. He hadn’t anticipated it being Lance, and so he quickly wrapped up his conversation.

“We can pick this up later,” Shiro said with a polite smile before taking a step back and turning to look at Lance; “Which one of us are you looking for?”

“You, but can we please talk in the hall?” Lance asked, feeling awkward about what he wanted to ask.

“Of course,” Shiro said, gesturing towards the door for Lance to lead the way. Once in the hall he stopped when Lance did, just a little ways down the hall from any doors. “What’s going on Lance?”

“I was just wondering if you’d have time to help me? I can’t seem to find much in the way of blankets and other good nesting materials,” Lance explained, keeping his gaze on the floor, feeling bad about bothering Shiro when he was in the middle of something important.

“Wow, you want my help with your nest. Of course, I don’t know how much help I’ll be but I’ll see what we can find,” Shiro agreed, not giving it a second thought.

The request was not something he took lightly. Shiro knew what it meant for an Omega to ask for help with their nest, from someone other than a mate. It was a privileged, and one Shiro did not take on lightly.

“Let’s go. Where have you already looked?” Shiro asked, reaching out to take Lance’s hand.

“I’ve checked all the empty rooms around our rooms and the lounge. I don’t know where else to look,” Lance said, leading the way down the hall.

“Do you want me to lead the way? I’ve found some interesting things in my wandering explorations,” Shiro asked.

Lance just nodded and Shiro quickly pulled Lance along after him. Twisting down hallways that Lance had never seen before and didn’t even know they existed in the first place.

Eventually they stopped outside an opulent looking door. Not quite as grand as the door for Allura’s room, but still much nicer then where the paladins had been staying. Without hesitation Shiro pushed the door open, revealing a room clearly meant for visiting dignitaries and royalty. They were not meant to be there.

However, at the sight of all the new blankets and soft looking pillows Lance ran forward. He dragged Shiro to the side of the bed, before dropping his hand and diving onto the bed. The Omega had to check everything. Check how soft the blankets were, how strong the pillows would be to hold together his nest. He had to make sure everything in his nest was exactly what he wanted and needed.

“Thank you Shiro. This stuff is awesome,” Lance cheered, burying himself in all the blankets.

“I’m glad you’re happy. Do you want me to stay or go?” Shiro asked, leaning against the bed post and watching the happy Omega.

“Stay please. I mean,” Lance paused, before slowly turning to look over his shoulder at the Alpha; “Unless you have somewhere else to be.”

“Nope, no where else to be. If you want me to stick around, I’m all yours.” Shiro smiled, watching Lance relax and a smile return to the Omega’s face.

They stayed in that room for quite a while. Lance had a system that was lost on Shiro, but the Alpha was just enjoying watching Lance. The Omega was thrilled to have nice things for his nest.

Eventually Shiro moved across the room to sit at a dressing table, after catching one to many blankets in the face. He was happy though. Happy to spend time with Lance, so they could find their new balance. He was glad to be able to take a moment where they weren’t in battle to just enjoy everything.

That peace didn’t last long. Before anyone was ready to get back into the Lions and into a fight the Galra were upon them once again. They had a little break from fighting, a little room to breath.

They just happened to run into a Galra cruiser moving though a system. There was no particular distress call, or request for help. It was just a chance encounter in the depths of space. One the paladins were prepared for, but not able to strike first.

Before they could get into position the castle was spotted and the battle was on. Before the paladins could get their lions out into the fight there were swarms of Galra fighters already headed for the castle. Thankfully Coran had put the barrier up at the first sign of danger and was able to keep them protected until the paladins were out in the fight.

As was quite common Coran and Allura did what they could to help with the battle from the Castle. But, being only one cruiser and some fighters they were quick to dispatch. Though, slower than normal.

Everyone could see that Lance was falling a step or two behind and it took an extra second for him to change his course of action. Usually that would be fine, but not in the middle of a battle. From the outside it looked like Lance’s reaction time was slowed, but from the inside of the blue lion every mistake Lance made was just piling up in his head.

He knew he should be going faster. He knew he should be acting quicker. He knew he should have been focused on taking out as many fighters as he could, and leaving everyone else to do their own thing, unless told otherwise, but Lance seemed unable to do that.

Every time he went to make a move it was like he had to make visual conformation that everyone else was alright. He had to make sure Hunk wasn’t overwhelmed and Pidge wasn’t being tailed. That Shiro wasn’t missing something right behind him and Keith wasn’t in danger. His instincts as a cadet, as a paladin were screaming at him to just do as he was told and follow orders. But his newly reawakened Omega instincts were so worried about his friends, his pack, that the two were fighting and doing both was taking it’s tole on his head.

By the end of it everything was fine. No one was hurt and everyone made it back safely. They all made their way back to the castle after briefly boarding the Galra ship to see what information they had. Nothing. They were just a patrol.

They all gathered in the lounge after the battle for a debrief. Lance made sure to sit in the corner of one of the couches, trying to be as small and inconspicuous as possible. He was still having a battle inside his own head. He was still questioning every move he made and how slowly he followed orders. He didn’t want – or need really – anyone to call him out on his short comings. Ones he already knew existed.

“Lance, what the hell was that?” Keith asked, bursting into the room and eyes locking on the Omega immediately.

Great. Of course it would be Keith to call him out on everything he was failing on.

“I know, I know,” Lance muttered, bringing his knees to his chest. He didn’t need someone bringing all his inadequacies to light. He already knew where he was failing, and he was sure everyone else did too. Did they really need to be said out loud?

“You were slow. We don’t have time for slow,” Keith berated, before anyone had a chance to say anything.

“Keith,” Shiro said, stepping in and putting a hand on the other Alpha’s shoulder. “We all still need time to adjust. I’m sure Lance agrees that everything is still a little off.”

“Sure is, and I am sorry. I know I need to be quicker. I’ll be better next time,” Lance said, not moving from his curled up position.

“I think we all just need a break. We’re still feeling the threat of battle and we need just a moment to settle. We can talk about this once we’ve got our head,” Shiro said, all but dismissing the debriefing, just as Allura and Coran walked in.

“We done already? That was fast,” Coran asked.

“Not quite. We’re going to have this meeting later. When everyone has had a chance to calm down from the battle. Sometimes we can’t talk about it the second we get out of our lions, and that’s okay,” Shiro said, heading for the door with Keith in tow.

Allura stepped aside so they could exit, watching the room curiously. Pidge rolled her eyes and followed Shiro out the door, heading for Green’s hanger to get back to work. Confused Coran headed out too, going back up to the Bridge to keep an eye out for anything else. Hunk took a seat beside Lance and put an arm around his friend.

He didn’t say anything, just sat there waiting for Lance to make the first move. If the Omega wanted to talk he should be the one to initiate it. For the moment through, Hunk was just there for Lance, so he wasn’t all on his own. The sentiment was appreciated greatly.

Shiro said nothing as he led Keith down the hall. Keith was confused why there was no talking and why Shiro hadn’t gotten on top of Lance like he had in the past when someone had made mistakes. Sure, the older Alpha was not strict by any means, but he did understand the needs of the team and the fact that everyone had to get better in order to save the Galaxy. Something wasn’t right and Keith knew it.

That thought was solidified in his mind when they walked into the training room and Shiro let him go, continuing to walk into the middle of the room.

“What was that in the lounge? Everybody saw that Lance was falling behind,” Keith questioned.

“Keith, what else did you notice in that battle?” Shiro asked, pausing for a moment to let Keith answer. When the other Alpha said nothing he continued. “Did you notice Hunk? How cautious he was being? How close he was sticking to Lance, despite anything else? Did you notice Pidge? How she was being more reckless than usual? How she was doing her best to keep up with you? Something she doesn’t usually do. Did you notice me? How reluctant I was being to move Hunk too far away from Lance, or how I wasn’t calling you around? Trusting you could see where you were most useful?”

“No,” Keith answered softly. He hadn’t been watching anyone else. He had only been focusing on the battle, and Lance. He never focused on Lance. Why was he so focused on Lance?

“Exactly. That’s why I didn’t say anything, because no one was at their best,” Shiro said, making his way back to over to Keith slowly. “And, I bet you didn’t take a second to notice Lance there. He was already beating himself up for it before you got there.”

Keith didn’t say anything. He felt guilty for not noticing anything about Lance before questioning him.

“Next time, let me handle it. And you need to remember, Lance is going to be a little different for some time. Being on suppressants messes with an Omega. I watched it with Matt, and I watched this happen when we were captured and he had come off his suppressants. Instincts are everything and Lance is probably dealing with his right now. Give him a break, because I am.”

“Right, yeah. I’m going to train for a bit. Let me know when we’re going to talk,” Keith said, walking around Shiro to start the training sequence.

When Shiro had returned to lounge there was no one else there. Lance and Hunk had already gotten up. Lance went to his room to lay in his nest and Hunk had gone to meet up with Pidge to help her if he could. Shiro didn’t know that though, and just went to his room to take off his armour, before heading to the bridge to find something productive to do other than wander the halls.

When they gathered for dinner Keith made sure he was early, because he had something to say to Lance.

By that time Lance had made his way out of his room to help Hunk put dinner together. What he mostly did was put food on plates and take food from the kitchen and put it on the table. When he saw Keith already seated at the table, before anyone else was there he was confused and a little wary that Keith was going to lay into him again about how much he messed up in the battle.

“Before you race back to the kitchen, can we talk?” Keith asked as Lance turned to leave.

“What? Are you going to yell at me again for what I already know I messed up on?” Lance countered.

“No.” Keith paused, he had already planned out what he was going to say, but for whatever reason the words didn’t want to come right away. He was hesitant, because he didn’t want to make thing’s worse. He stood up from his seat and walked around the table so he was close to Lance while they talked. “I want to say I’m sorry for that. I didn’t see everything I should have before I jumped on you. I’m working on it.”

Lance was a little surprised by the apology. It was the last thing he had expected to come from Keith in that moment, but it was welcomed. It lifted part of the weight he had been carrying since the battle.

“I’m not myself right now, and it’s messing with my head. I’m trying to figure it out, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of everyone else,” Lance said, surprising himself that he was able to open up even a little bit to Keith. He moved closer to the door, but stopped beside it waiting to see if Keith had anymore to say before he went back to help Hunk.

“If you want to work on it I’d be happy to help you train. Figure out how fighting works with everything else, or if you want to blow off some steam. You know where to find me, most of the time,” Keith said, offering the only thing he really knew in space. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

The offer made Lance smile. He wasn’t usually one for training, but Keith had offered an olive branch. He was trying to make things right, and that alone made Lance feel better.

“Thanks. Hunk’s waiting for me, so I should go,” Lance said, not wanting to linger while he was smiling like a fool. He quickly ducked back into the kitchen and made sure to linger as long as he could before bringing the rest of dinner out with Hunk.

By that time everyone else had gathered and were chatting. Lance was still smiling and no one thought anything of it, except Keith. For a reason he couldn’t pinpoint it made him feel good to know he was the one who had made Lance smile.

For the next couple days Lance worked on figuring himself out. He knew he had to find a way to trust his paladin instincts in a battle and not be so worried about everyone else that he was slow to act. He’d been able to do it before, when he had suppressants and he still couldn’t seem to figure out why things felt so much harder without them.

On the third day, he finally caved and went to the training deck outside of team training. Unsurprisingly Keith was there and seeing the red paladin made him more sure of his decision somehow. He didn’t feel quite as ridiculous needing more training, because Keith had assured him that he would help.

“I’m here for that extra training you said you’d help me with,” Lance said when Keith took out the training bot he had been fighting.

“I’m glad you came. Come here,” Keith waved him over, letting his bayard drop from a sword into it’s base form.

“So, what’s the plan?” Lance made his way over to Keith, meeting him halfway.

“My recommendation is that we start off simple. Your reaction time kinda sucked last time, so let’s start there,” Keith suggested, waiting for Lance to get his bayard out. Once it was in hand he stepped off to the side and started a training sequence. Two at a time the small flying robots came flying out of the walls. At first Lance wasn’t ready for them, expecting the full sized bots. But as the sequence went on he got better.

Once he found his grove he was quick. It was easier, because he didn’t have anyone else on the field with him to worry about. That part of his mind was at ease because he was only focused on protecting himself.

“Good, again,” Keith called when the sequence ended. Lance didn’t see the point, as Keith called for the next level up.

The second round three of the bots were coming out at once. Forcing Lance to speed up, to be more on top of every movement. Keith was counting on it. After talking with Shiro he had realized that Lance had been worrying about where everyone else was on the field in the last battle He realized that allies were what slowed Lance down more than adding more enemies to the field.

So, about halfway through the sequence Keith grabbed his bayad and jumped into the fight. Within a second Lance spotted him and there was a noticeable decline in how Lance was reacting. He was slower, paying more attention to Keith than the enemies at hand. Clearly, that was where the problem lay.

When Keith had finally managed to cut down the last of the bots, with little help from Lance they both took a seat.

“What happened?” Keith asked immediately, tossing Lance a water pouch.

“I dunno,” Lance muttered, chewing on his bottom lip. A clear lie, clear enough that even Keith noticed it.

“Try again. What happened?” Keith chose to offer Lance a second chance to tell him the truth. Reminding himself of what Shiro said. That Lance already knew where he was lacking and didn’t need it thrown back in his face. They were a team, and had to work as one even if they weren’t in a battle.

“I was worrying more about you and your safety, and less on just getting it done. I have no idea why it happens though. It just seems to happen and I get so lost in my head. It’s like I shut down,” Lance admitted, putting his head in his hands. Ashamed that he was failing so badly.

“Do you think it’s because your not taking those suppressants anymore? Or did something happen to make you start second guessing your instincts? Because what I saw out there when you were on your own were some damn good instincts.”

Keith’s words surprised Lance. He hadn’t been anticipating a compliment, he was expecting Keith to laugh and lay into him about not getting caught up in his own head.

“Nothing happened, other than running out of suppressants. I know it’s because of that protective instinct I have for all of you guys. It wasn’t as strong, to the point where I needed to know where you all are at all times, before. And now it’s just getting in the way. I don’t know what to do or how to get over it. You’re all my pack and I worry about you guys,” Lance admitted, feeling mildly foolish opening up to Keith of all people. But he had asked and wasn’t making fun of him, so that had to mean something. Right?

“I have an idea, but it’s going to take some work,” Keith said getting to his feet. “Now, I’m not going to tell you to ignore your instincts, because that’s just dangerous. What I will say is that you’ve seen us all in battle. You know we are all very capable and call out when we do need help. So, give us some credit, and if your worried ask how were doing. But, what I think might also help is some practice. So get back out here, and remember that I’m not your priority. Your priority it to take out the drones before they can hurt anyone.”

“I’ll give it a shot,” Lance agreed, jumping to his feet. After that speech he felt more invigorated. The only test was to put the wise words into practice.

It wasn’t easy, but Lance was getting there by the end of the first day. He was by no means at his best, but reminding himself that Keith was capable and calling out to him when he was second guessing whether or not to check on him made it a little easier.

When he finally decided to call it for the day Keith hung back. The alpha all but lived on the training deck, so Lance was not surprised at all.

After washing up Lance headed to the lounge, where he was surprised to find Shiro. He was seated on the couch with his tablet in hand, seemingly reading something over.

Seeing the other alpha there, and being kind of tired from all the training he had just done with Keith Lance wanted to lay down with him. But, he didn’t know if that would be weird. Sure Omega’s cuddled with others all the time, but only if they were close, or a pack. Lance liked to think the paladins and Alteans were a pack, but he wasn’t sure if they were close enough for that yet.

Shiro noticed the door open, letting the blue paladin in, but was surprised when he didn’t immediately grab a seat. For a moment he watched out of the corner of his eye as Lance seemed to freeze and contemplate something.

“Do you need something Lance?” Shiro asked, seeming to startle the other man.

“Um,” Lanced paused, seeming unsure.

Shiro put his tablet down and looked over at Lance. He saw how conflicted the other seemed to be.

“You know you can ask anything right? It’s okay. I want to help if I can.”

Lance nodded but didn’t say anything or move at all. So Shiro got up and walked over to him.

“What’s going on? You look lost.” Shiro said, putting a hand on Lance’s shoulder.

“I just, umm... I want to uh, IreallywanttocuddlewithyoubutIdon’twantittobeweird,” Lance blurted out, his words all running together as his face turned bright red and he had to look away from Shiro.

For a long moment Shiro was stunned and a little confused. He was trying to figure out what Lance had said and was having trouble doing so. The words had been mumbled really quickly and had caught Shiro by surprise so he wasn’t able to catch what Lance had said.

“What was that? You need to slow down so I can understand you,” Shiro said, trying to get Lance to repeat himself.

“I really want to cuddle with you but I don’t want it to be weird,” Lance repeated, only to immediately be pulled into a hug.

“Of course Lance. Anytime you want. Don’t feel bad for asking,” Shiro said, holding Lance close.

Lance was still beat red, but they made there way back to the couch and stretched out. Lance was laying on top of Shiro with his head pillowed on the alpha’s chest. It felt nice, even when Shiro picked his tablet back up. He still kept an arm wrapped around Lance’s back, holding him close.

“If it helps,” Shiro said after about ten minutes of them laying there. Lance had started to dose off, just comfortable and relaxed with Shiro. “Matt used to come sit with me all the time on our way to Kerberos. He wouldn’t say a word, he’d just drop into my lap or sprawl across me in my bunk because he didn’t want to be alone.”

“That’s really sweet,” Lance said, and less than a minute later he was fast asleep on top of Shiro. That fact made Shiro’s day. It meant Lance trusted him enough to be vulnerable around him and that was the sweetest thing in the universe. However, that also meant he was not going to be moving for quite a while.

Over the next few days everything seemed to happen all at once. Pidge was able to piece together Sendak’s memories and they found the secret base. Allura sent Shiro out on the pod, getting left behind, and they had to go rescue her.

When they were in battle Lance was glad he’d spent so much time working with Keith. He was not quite back to where he was on suppressants, but he was doing far better. It was enough to get them all out of there in time, mostly safely.

Being strewn across the Galaxy was difficult, but they managed. Unfortunately, almost as soon as they got to the ocean planet Lance started to feel, not himself. Well, more not himself than he already felt being off suppressants. It wasn’t until after they had freed Hunk, and the planet that he finally realized what was wrong. He was in preheat, and after the time that he had spent not realizing it he was sure he was close to his heat. Too close for his liking without more preparation time.

Meanwhile Shiro and Keith were dealing with their own problems. After they had finally freed themselves from the reptile creatures they were able to sit and talk. Along with Shiro telling Keith he wanted the younger Alpha to lead Voltron if anything were to happen to him, they also spoke about their Omega teammate.

“I think I might have feelings for Lance,” Keith admitted, pointedly not looking at Shiro.

“Oh,” Shiro said, taken aback by the admission. It was not something he’d ever thought he’d hear from the other. Not with the way he and Lance seemed to butt heads. Then again, they had been getting along better in recent days, weeks, Shiro wasn’t sure. It was hard to properly keep track of time while in space without a single sun to delineate days.

Shiro said no more, waiting for Keith to elaborate what he was feeling. He’d known Keith for some time, and he knew no amount of prodding would get him to speak if he didn’t want to. Talking to Keith was a waiting game, and one that usually paid off if Shiro was patient enough.

“We’ve been training together, and in that time I’ve gotten to know him better than I ever did at the Garrison. I’d like to think that we’re becoming friends and I can’t tell if that’s it, or if I want more. And if I want more I don’t want it to be just because of my instincts. I don’t think it’s just because he’s an Omega, but I’m afraid it’ll come off that way,” Keith finally said after a long pause.

“I’m not sure what I can say. Those are think you kind of have to work out on your own. They’re not something I can tell you,” Shiro said, putting his hand on Keith’s shoulder.

“I know, it’s just... I’m not good at this kind of stuff. I’m not good with people, and I don’t want to ruin the team just because I might be feeling something that’s not really happening. You know?”

“Yea, I know,” Shiro said.

He wasn’t just being sympathetic either. Shiro was beginning to care for Lance in that way too. He wanted it to be because Lance was finally opening up and being himself, but that nagging part in the back of his mind was questioning if it was just because he was an Omega.

Thankfully, it was a little easier to squash that nagging feeling, because he had spent so much time cooped up with Matt in far smaller quarters and he was sure he didn’t feel that way about his friend. But, they had been friends before Kerberos, and they’d never had that type of relationship.

Shiro was also questioning some other things too. Like Adam, back on Earth. They weren’t really together, never really were. They were friends, and sure they’d hooked up before but they made it clear to one and other they were not a couple. Shiro made sure Adam knew that before he left, so the Beta wouldn’t be waiting for him back on Earth while he was off on Kerberos. Though, he still didn’t know where they stood if Adam knew he was alive.

It was something he had to keep in mind, even while he was out trying to save the universe.

Finally getting back to the Castle everything was crazy. Shiro was in a pod for his injuries and Lance was trying not to panic about that. He was worried sick about Shiro, but also had to worry about himself. As time went by he was just getting closer and closer to his heat and that was not something that he could take lightly.

Before Shiro was out of the pod Lance reluctantly had to pull himself away, to get ready for his heat. To fix up his nest. To collect snacks and water. It had been years since he had last gone through a heat and he was worried. He feared it would be longer than normal, or more taxing on his body. He really didn’t know what to expect.

On top of all of that they were in the middle of a war, so he couldn’t anticipate when they would need Voltron, when they would need him. If he was in the thralls of heat there was no way he would be able to effectively pilot Blue. He was worried to say the least.

He knew he had to tell someone what was going on, and he wanted to tell Shiro. He knew Shiro would be understanding and would help him and make sure he was taken care of properly, as well as properly taking care of himself.

Though his second choice, Hunk was just as caring about it all. He helped Lance get what he needed in his room ready to go. Laid out his paladin armour, should anything dire come up and promised to bring him proper meals and make sure he ate them. Hunk was a good friend, and a very caring Beta, who only wanted the best for his friend.

“If you can’t, I will make sure Shiro knows what’s going on alright?” Hunk asked, when he could tell Lance was entering the first stages of his heat proper.

“Thank you,” Lance sighed, head rested on his shoulder as they stood a little ways away from everyone else.

The whole team was crowded around Shiro, waiting for him to wake up. Lance had decided it was alright to spend the last bit of time before he was fully out of commission waiting for Shiro, because everything was as ready as he could get it for his heat.

Just as Lance was really starting to fade and Hunk was ready to send him to his nest Shiro’s pod opened up. They raced over to make sure they were all right there when he woke up, even if Lance wasn’t as enthusiastic as he could have been.

“Hey, you don’t look so good,” Shiro said, before he’d even stepped out of the pod.

“Speak for yourself,” Lance replied tiredly, shakier on his legs than Shiro was, and the Alpha had just stepped out of the pod.

“What’s wrong Lance? Why aren’t you in a pod?” Shiro asked, stepping around everyone put put a hand on the Omega’s face. In an instant he knew what was going on. Lance was burning up and should have been in his nest.

“Heat, but I wanted to wait for you to wake up.” Lance nearly collapsing in on himself as he answered and was barely caught by Hunk and Shiro.

“Get him back to his room now. I need to talk to the rest of you. It’s important,” Shiro said, starting in on what he had remembered about his escape.

Hunk managed to get Lance back to his room and undressed before Lance got too bad. Once the Omega was laying in his nest, Hunk headed back to the pod room. It was hard to ignore Lance’s cries for him to stay, but they had a job to do and Shiro had more information.

When Hunk had well and truly left, Lance wrapped himself up in as many blankets as he could get his hands on. Before long everything hurt. Mainly his hips and ass, but every one of his muscles seemed to be protesting. His head was killing him and his back ached.

Between all the pain Lance did realize one thing. He was not horny, which was unusual for a heat. Then again he hadn’t had one in four years and his body likely had to figure itself out again. He’d learned about dry heats before, which were almost worse than a normal heat, because all the pain still came, and there was nothing he could do about it. There was no pleasure he could give himself to distract his mind. He would just have to deal with the pain.

Some time later Hunk came back with food, and told Lance something. The poor Omega was not in his right mind and couldn’t remember what it was.

Hunk had come by to tell him they were going to be travelling through a wormhole to coordinates from Shiro’s arm, but they didn’t know what else to expect. He also managed to get Lance to eat half a bowl of food goo before Lance started refusing. So, he headed back up to the bridge to see what Shiro’s arm would lead them to.

At some point, Lance wasn’t sure how long it had been, the alarms started to go off. Ones that meant he had to get up and fight something. Sluggishly he managed to pull himself free of his nest and get into his armour, brain running on auto-pilot because he had done it so many times when he was half asleep. How was getting into gear half out of his mind any different?

“... someone in the castle... level 5,” He heard Coran say as he put his helmet on and headed out the door.

To his utter shock Lance was the one who found the intruder. He tried to take shots at him, but was too slow and unable to hit his target. Before he knew it the intruder was gone around the corner and Coran was warning Pidge to get ready.

Lance did his best to follow after the guy, but was slow and stumbling around. It was a wonder he was still on his feet. He found Pidge, and Hunk quickly after.

Hunk was shocked Lance was still able to keep up, and got his arm around Lance. He may not have been able to fire his gun while he was keeping Lance upright, but he couldn’t stand the thought of Lance getting lost while in heat. That just sounded like a disaster.

The intruder ran right into Keith and working to get Lance had taken too long so they momentarily lost the group. Until Shiro found them, and in a split second the fighting stopped, and Hunk all but picked Lance up to keep him from falling.

“I’m taking this one back to bed,” Hunk announced as he walked away.

“Good plan Hunk. Make sure he stays in there this time,” Shiro ordered lightly, more worried than anything else.

Shortly after Hunk had helped Lance out of his armour, he was right back in the Omega’s room helping him suit up. With a robeast just on the other side of the pocket of space-time they had to be ready for everything. He hoped Lance wouldn’t be a hindrance, but they needed to know forming Voltron was an option, or they’d be at a serious detriment.

Once inside of the Blue Lion Lance’s head seemed to clear a bit. Everything still felt hazy, but manageable. Like he could stick it out for a bit if need be, but it would be tough. He made sure to listen to commands very carefully, so he didn’t mess up or get himself or blue hurt.

He couldn’t really understand much else, other than he should wait to launch. It was clear they were in danger, and Shiro’s decision to start the battle with Voltron said a lot about how much danger they were really in.

It took all his energy to form Voltron, Working hard on making sure he was focusing on the team, without clouding them with his heat addled mind. It was a tough balance, but Blue seemed to be doing wonders to help.

After a long arduous fight, where Lance was completely exhausted by the end of it, they landed back in the castle. Lance couldn’t even muster the strength to stand, but everything in him was screaming to get back to his nest, where it was safe.

He couldn’t remember anything. He could barely remember where he was. He was sure he would be lost if he didn’t have Blue’s presence in the back of his mind. A calming wave crashing on the beach to keep him lucid enough to call for help.

“I’ll be right there Lance,” Hunk said, and what felt like seconds later Lance was being lifted.

“I’ve got him Hunk, I’ll meet you at his room,” Shiro said, as he picked Lance up. He took Lance’s helmet off and pushed the Omega’s nose into his own neck, knowing an alpha’s scent helped during a heat.

Lance quickly lifted his arm to wrap around Shiro, wanting him to never let go. He felt safe in Shiro’s arms.

“I don’t think I should take him from you, he seems pretty attached,” Hunk chuckled when Shiro arrived outside Lance’s door.

“When I got there he sounded like he was in pain. I didn’t know if it was from his heat or not, so I made sure he knew he was safe. That it was just me. He’s been quiet most of the way,” Shiro said, following Hunk into Lance’s room.

“We need to get him out of this armour first and foremost,” Hunk said, setting his own helmet down on Lance’s desk, taking Lance’s and Shiro’s own, as the alpha set Lance down on his bed and began to take his armour off.

Immediately Lance began to whimper and mutter pleas not to leave him alone.

“Shh, I’m not going anywhere. I just need to get you out of your armour. Keep your arms around me,” Shiro said, helping Lance lift his other arm around his neck.

That was enough to calm Lance while he was stripped of his armour. Shiro just piled it on the bed beside Lance, and paused when he was down to just the flight suit. He didn’t want to cross any boundaries with Lance, knowing he wasn’t in his right mind to agree to anything.

“Lance, can I have your arm?” Hunk asked, one hand on Lance’s shoulder and the other reaching between the Omega and Alpha to unzip the suit.

Lance protested, but let go of Shiro, holding on the Alpha tighter with his other arm. It repeated as Hunk moved to Lance’s other side to pull his other arm out. Hunk had Shiro pick Lance up, so he could pull the bottom of the suit off, leaving Lance in just his boxers.

“I’m going to go run a cold bath to cool him off,” Hunk said, leaving Shiro with Lance.

For Shiro it wasn’t a matter of his own self control. He knew he would never do anything that could hurt Lance. He was afraid that Lance would try to do something and get hurt when Shiro had to tell him no.

That didn’t happen. All Lance did was hold on around Shiro’s neck for dear life, with his nose against Shiro’s scent gland. Taking in the calming scent the Alpha was putting off to keep him calm.

Taking the moment to take in Lance’s scent, trying to pick out the nuances of his scent. When they had taken off Lance’s flight suit he hadn’t seen a wet spot like he had expected for the first few hours of Lance’s heat. There was no scent of slick, at all.

In that moment Shiros heart sunk, because he realized just what type of heat Lance was in. One of the most painful kinds.

“Can you bring him in here?” Hunk called.

Shiro picked Lance up and carried him into the small en-suite. He lowered Lance into the half full tub, boxers and all and Lance’s arms got tighter around him.

“Cold,” Lance muttered, trying to pull himself back out of the water, but not having the strength to do so.

“It’s just for a minute Lance. You’re too hot,” Shiro soothed, hand on Lance’s back, wishing he’d taken his own armour and flight suit off.

“I can take him now,” Hunk said, having stripped off half his armour and the top half of his flight suit pulled down.

“Do you mind if I stay? I’m worried,” Shiro said, slowly moving Lance’s arms from his neck to Hunks. Lance protested heavily, making grabby hands for Shiro as he stood up.

“If you think you can handle it, but I’m not leaving you two alone,” Hunk agreed.

Shiro nodded in understanding as he began to strip down like Hunk, removing all his armour and tying his flight suit at his waist. Then he grabbed a towel from the rack as Lance began to shiver in the tub.

Working with Hunk they got him to stand and wrapped the towel around the Omega. Once covered they pulled off the soaked boxers and Shiro carried Lance to his nest. He set Lance into the comfortable looking nest and tried to let go, only to have him hold on tighter, not wanting to be left alone.

“I won’t go far. I just need to talk to Hunk,” Shiro said, trying to pull Lance off of him. When he finally agreed to hold onto Lance’s hand as he turned to talk to Hunk.

“What’s up Shiro?” Hunk asked, carrying both sets of armour out of the bathroom and dropping it all onto Lance’s bed.

“This isn’t a normal heat. I can’t smell any slick on him at all,” Shiro said, giving Lance’s hand a squeeze to assure him that he was still there.

Hunk picked up Lance’s flight suit and it was bone dry. The only moisture was sweat around the collar from what the flight suit couldn’t temperature control.

“Don’t know what to do. I wasn’t really taught how to help with heats, other that the usual way,” Hunk admitted, sitting down on the little remaining space on Lance’s bed.

“From what I know it’s basically the same, but there’s no relief from the pain. Or at least that’s what Matt told me,” Shiro said, taking Lance’s hand with his other and moving closer to run his fingers through the Omega’s hair. He was already sweating again.

“I assume having someone around helps, and of course the obvious not fighting in the middle of a war,” Hunk said, clutching Lance’s flight suit.

“As far as I know.”

“I’m going to go put some food together. We could all use it,” Hunk said after a long pause, collecting up his armour.

“I’ll be here if you need me. His temperature is all over the place so someone needs to make sure he doesn’t overheat.”

For the duration of Lance’s heat Shiro stayed by his side as much as possible. Of course he took the opportunity to get cleaned up and do a little work while Lance slept. By the end of the week Shiro had his own little pile of blankets and pillows just outside of Lance’s nest. He didn’t want to intrude and only moved into the nest briefly to check Lance’s temperature, or when Lance pulled his arm in to cuddle like a teddy.

It was a long few days to say the least, but it was worth it for Lance to have someone there. It seemed to ease his distress, just being around.

The morning when Lance woke up with all his faculties back he was still sore and embarrassed to realize he was clutching onto Shiro. He groaned, kind of loudly but didn’t let go of Shiro’s arm.

Lance’s groan woke Shiro up and he sat up, doing his best not to jostle his arm too much and bother Lance. He leaned over and put his hand on Lance’s forehead to check how he was doing. Thankfully he was cooled off and while still sweaty he seemed to be doing better.

“How are you feeling?” Shiro whispered, running his fingers through the others hair.

“Like trash, wait... when did you get here?” Lance asked, finally realizing that he hadn’t asked Shiro to help him with his heat.

“After the fight with the robeast. You didn’t want me to leave, so I stayed,” Shiro said with a shrug.

“Robeast?” Lance asked, really starting to get confused and realized there were parts of his memory that were non-existent because of his heat. “I guess I need to be filled in on some things, but later. Right now I don’t want to move.”

“Of course. Rest. Go back to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up,” Shiro assured, fingers still in Lance’s hair.

“Thank you.”

Just like he promised Shiro stayed by Lance’s side until he woke up again. Hunk came by with food and was sent out to find pain medication to help with Lance’s aches and pains.

When he woke up Shiro handed him the medication and held out a water pouch. Lance quickly took them both down and lay back down, still clutching Shiro’s arm.

“Hunk brought food, and Keith stopped by to ask how you were doing,” Shiro said, reaching for the bar Hunk had brought.

“That’s so sweet,” Lance said, still tired but knowing he had to get out of his nest eventually. Lance took the bar and slowly ate it, still clutching onto Shiro.

“It was. Everyone’s really worried about you.” Shiro went back to playing with Lance’s hair and the Omega seemed to enjoy it. “Do you want to take a shower and then come down to the lounge. I can round everyone up for you.”

“That’s means I actually have to get up,” Lance grumbled, not ready to move yet.

“You have to get up eventually, and so do I unfortunately. There’s only so much I can do with one arm,” Shiro said, wiggling his fingers of the hand still in Lance’s grip.

“I guess,” Lance said, rolling onto his back, but taking Shiro’s arm with him.

“I’ll start the shower,” Shiro said, getting up and taking his arm back. He stood up and stretched, glad to finally not be on the floor and able stretch his natural arm out after it being stuck under a not light Omega. Not that Lance was heavy, but he had been laying on top of Shiro’s arm for hours.

He headed for the shower and turned the water to a temperature he liked, hoping it wasn’t too hot for Lance. Then he headed back to Lance, who was slowly and stiffly getting up.

“Need a hand?” Shiro offered his hand to Lance and helped the Omega stand up straight.

“I’ll meet you in a lounge in a bit,” Lance said as he hobbled over to the bathroom.

Shiro felt bad for forcing Lance out of his nest and into the shower, but they had things to do. After all, they had Ulaz who was still lingering around the castle. Somehow he’s been able to get out before the robeast imploded. They had planets to visit, and they were still trying to work out how the robeast was able to find them in the middle of nowhere.

After gathering in the lounge everyone filled Lance in on what had transpired. Some parts he remembered, but mostly it was all news to him. He was just glad he hadn’t caused more trouble by trying to help. Which was something.

When they split up again Keith convinced Lance to join him on the training deck. He assured Lance he wouldn’t work him ragged, he just wanted to help Lance not be so stiff.

They spent most of the time just stretching, and chatting. Mostly Lance talked. Keith kept asking him questions about his home and family. It was nice for the two of them to just talk about something so simple. It helped Lance quite a lot.

However when Lance would turn the questions on Keith he would deflect. He didn’t want to talk about the nothing he had back on Earth. He’d rather hear Lance talk about his family than talk about the foster homes he’d been bounced around in since his father died.

That night was unusual. Lance couldn’t sleep. Likely because he had been sleeping off and on from his heat for several days. He was expecting to be tired, like he usually was after a heat, but apparently he’d rested enough.

Because he couldn’t sleep he decided to go for a walk around the castle. He didn’t get far though. He made it down two doors, to Shiro’s room where he heard something. He couldn’t quite tell what from the hallway. It could have been whimpering or crying, but he couldn’t tell what.

Taking the risk Lance knocked on the door, and the noise cut out completely. It was as if someone had been woken suddenly.

“Who is it?” Shiro asked, voice much quieter than Lance had expected, but thick like the Alpha had just woken up.

“It’s me. Can I come in?” he asked, keeping his voice down so he didn’t wake anyone else.

The only response was the door opening up, but it was too dark to make out much more than Shiro’s silhouette.

“It’s the middle of the night Lance. What’s going on?” Shiro asked, staying out of clear view.

“Well, I couldn’t sleep so I was wondering if I could lay with you. I know it’s an unusual request, but it would help a lot,” Lance pleaded.

“Come here then,” Shiro said, opening his arms and inviting Lance in.

Nothing was said after that, they both just lay down on Shiro’s bed, squishing together on the single mattress. Lance could tell Shiro had been crying, but didn’t bring it up. It wasn’t his place. He only hoped being there helped Shiro.

Though he didn’t say anything, Shiro was glad Lance had showed up. He’d just been waking from a nightmare and having the Omega there grounded him to reality even in the darkness of his room. He didn’t realize just how good Lance was at keeping his nightmares away.

That night they both slept soundly, tucked close in Shiro’s bed. It was nice to have someone else there, especially someone who had already been there for the past week though they were much closer. Even being so close it gave them lots of room to breath.

The next day was the start of a rather enjoyable routine. Lance would get up, eat breakfast, then help Hunk clean up. He’d bring food to Pidge, who had once again fallen asleep over her laptop, whether in green’s hanger or in her junk filled room. Then, he’d go work out with Keith. They’d have lunch, then Lance would find Shiro and lay down with him for a bit. It was a nice break in the middle of the day, mostly for Shiro because it gave him an excuse to just stop.

More often than not they’d both fall asleep and be woken up an hour or two later by Allura who needed Shiro for something. Then Lance would head to the kitchen to help Hunk with dinner.

Some days it was interrupted by a planet who needed saving or a distress call, but that was fair game. They were trying to save the universe after all.

First it was Olkarion. Then Zarkon attacked. Coran ended up getting the Slipperies and Allura needed to rest, well they all needed to rest. Thankfully in the middle of it all Lance and Keith managed to find the pool, unfortunately they couldn’t figure out how to use it, but they did spend some quality time together, which was nice. But of course the day was ruined by Zarkon again, because when wasn’t it ruined by something.

Unfortunately, Ulaz wasn’t much help. He was better for stealth missions and infiltration. Not so much space fights, he didn’t have a fighter. Though he did what he could with Coran and Pidge with the Teludav.

Even in the eye of the storm Zarkon found them. It was running them all ragged and no one was thinking straight.

Then Keith and Allura took off in the night. When Lance found out he was heartbroken. Not only did it put them at a major disadvantage, but he was worried. He and Keith were getting close and he didn’t want to loose the red paladin again.

Shiro was understandably upset, especially when they ran into Taujeer. It was just one thing after another and Lance was getting sick of it. And then Morvok showed up just to add to the bullshit.

Though, a break at the space mall was a nice consolation at the end of it all. They still had Zarkon to worry about, but there was nothing life threatening for a full day, which was a much needed break.

Shiro said nothing of what happened in the Astral Plane with Zarkon.

Then Shiro and Keith went to the Blade of Marmora and Keith found his heritage, which was nice. Allura didn’t approve, but Lance was happy to see Keith find part of himself, even though he got hurt in the process.

Then Beta Traz and Slav. It was the first time anyone had seen the less than pleasant side of Shiro, and Lance gained confidence in his ability and his place on the team. It was something he hadn’t known he needed until Shiro gave it, and in that moment despite everything else Lance knew he belonged. He was right where he needed to be.

All good things must come to an end though, and once again Zarkon was able to find them.

By the end of the fight they may have won, but Shiro was gone. Both Lance and Keith were a mess, refusing to admit that Shiro was well and truly gone. He couldn’t be gone. That just didn’t make sense.

While they had lost one they had saved another, a Blade. Thace. Ulaz was thrilled to have his mate back with him again.

Shortly after that fight Lance went into heat, and he was miserable. He missed having the scent of an alpha with him. It made the whole thing far worse and the recovery harder to face.

Keith ended up finding him in a small nest in the Black Lion’s hanger. The Omega was just staring at the crashed Lion, like he was waiting for Shiro to walk out of the mouth and say it was just a nightmare.

“Hey Lance, how are you doing?” Keith asked, wanting to reach in and give him a hug but knowing it was improper, and they didn’t have that kind of relationship. To Keith it was clear Lance had feelings for the missing alpha and didn’t want to overstep.

With everything else going on Keith felt a little betrayed. He’d confided in Shiro that he cared for Lance, and while he was trying to figure out his own thoughts and feelings Shiro swoops in. But he couldn’t really blame the other Alpha, he didn’t choose how Lance felt and if Lance didn’t care for him at all then there was nothing he could do about it. He could just do his best to console Lance until they figured out what really happened.

“I feel awful and I miss Shiro,” Lance muttered, curling deeper into his nest.

“I miss him too,” Keith sighed, sitting down beside Lance’s nest, offering a hand to hold if Lance wanted it.

To his surprise Lance grabbed his hand and pulled it closer to his chest. That made Keith smile just a little. They were still friends after all, even if it may not go any further than that. Keith knew he had to be okay with whatever he could get. If he truly did love Lance like he thought he did then he knew the most important thing was that the Omega was happy, with or without him.

“Allura says we need to find another pilot of the black lion. At least until we get Shiro back. We need to be able to form Voltron,” Keith said, giving a brief catch up of the meeting Lance had missed. Everyone understood though.

“When do I need to be out of here?” Lance asked, not moving.

“Not until we see if any of us can actually pilot her. But everyone is going to be here soon, so you might want to get up,” Keith suggested.

Lance nodded and sat up. It took a minute for him to untangle himself from the blankets, but when he did he grabbed Keith’s hand again and walked with him over to the door. Just as they got to the door everyone else walked in.

First Allura, then Hunk, Pidge and even Coran tried. No signs of life. Keith pushed Lance to try first, hoping beyond anything that he wasn’t going to be the one to lead Voltron.

Slowly Lance made his way to the cockpit and just stood behind the chair for a long moment. He was afraid to sit, afraid that he would be called on to lead Voltron and he wasn’t sure he could do it even if the galaxy depended on it. He wasn’t a leader.

Eventually Lance walked around and sat down. Hesitantly he reached forward to grab the controls, and nothing. No response. No signs of life.

He sighed to himself and slumped in the seat. Even though he was clearly not the leader he was not ready to leave yet. Shiro’s scent still lingered in the cockpit, despite everything being metal. Being in there made everything seem so much more real and final.

“Hey Black. I hope you don’t mind if I spend a little extra time here,” Lance whispered even though he was all on his own in the lifeless lion. “I’m just not ready to give up on him yet. I can’t, because I think I might love him. I can’t be sure if it’s real or if it’s just because he’s so caring and willing to be there for me. But at the same time he’s not the only one whose seemed to capture my heart. I didn’t think it was fair for Shiro or Keith to say anything before because I was so torn, and now Shiro’s gone. I don’t know what I’m going to do without him. I feel lost and all on my own despite the whole team being right out there.”

Lance paused for a moment to wipe the tears that had begun to fall. He felt silly for crying while talking to a giant mechanical lion that wasn’t even his.

“Sorry, you probably don’t care. I should just go so Keith can take his place as leader. He’ll be a great leader, and I hope you take care of him like you took care of Shiro.”

Lance stood up and turned to leave. He gave the seat a pat before he headed out, wiping the last of his tears before he left the lion.

“What can I say?” Lance asked as he left, trying to act cheerful and jovial; “I guess I’m just not leadership material. You’re up Keith.”

The joke didn’t fool anyone. They could clearly see that Lance had been crying and could hear his sniffles still.

Hunk said nothing, just opened his arms for Lance and held the Omega while Keith headed inside the lion. Almost immediately she came to life, sitting up and looking down at the paladins.

Keith was the new Black Paladin and all around there were some mixed feelings. It was nothing about Keith’s ability to lead, it was more the final straw. It was admitting that Shiro would not be back anytime soon and they had to get used to that. Black had picked a new paladin.

Slowly everyone headed out when they realized Keith was going to be a while. Lance stayed, heading over to his nest to clean it up. Black’s hanger was Keith’s space now, and Lance didn’t want to be presumptuous and just take over part of that space for his own. He was going to get out of Keith’s was, even if it meant giving up that last bit of fight to get Shiro back.

He managed to separate and fold two blankets before Keith came over and put his hand on Lance’s shoulder, startling the Omega.

“Didn’t mean to scare you. What are you doing anyway?” Keith asked as he crouched down behind Lance.

“Just cleaning up. I’ll be out of here soon, don’t worry.” Lance thought Keith was trying to get rid of him faster, but he had a system and could only pack up and move a nest so quickly.

“There’s no need to rush. You can keep a nest here if you want. I don’t know if it will actually survive too many launches without being a little messed up, but you don’t need to leave completely.”

“It’s okay. It’s your space. I don’t want to be in your way.”

Without meaning to Lance had cut a little deep for Keith. He thought Keith didn’t want him there, that he had to leave because the space wasn’t Shiro’s anymore. That hurt, a lot more than Lance had meant to.

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it then.” Keith got up and headed out. He had to talk to Allura anyway, figure out what it meant to be the head of Voltron and all that. He’d leave Lance in peace.

Later, Lance was laying in his nest, wanting to go to Keith to train, but at the same time he didn’t want to move. His nest was safe, it was the one place he felt well and truly safe in the middle of an intergalactic war. Besides, Keith would be busy, he was the Black Paladin, he had to take over everything Shiro was doing and Lance was sure the alpha would have no time for him.

So, he stayed in his nest. At least until the alarm blared and he had no choice but to get up. With practised speed Lance got into his armour and raced down to Blue. Except, she had her particle barrier up and wasn’t letting Lance in.

“Come on Blue. Let me in,” He begged.

“Lance, where are you?” Keith snapped, having already taken off with Pidge and Hunk.

Maybe he wasn’t cut out for this after all. Maybe everything had been a lie, and now that things had changed Lance wasn’t worthy of being a paladin. Maybe Blue hated him for trying to take over the Black Lion, even though he didn’t really want to. Lance was lost, but he could do nothing about it.

“My lion’s not responding to me,” He answered, trying not to sound heartbroken, and sure he had failed by the way his voice cracked.

“Well figure it out and catch up to us as soon as you can,” Keith ordered, sounding done with Lance’s crap. It wasn’t his fault Blue wasn’t letting him in, or at least Lance hoped he hadn’t done anything to warrant his lion locking him out.

“Come on old Blue. It’s me, Lancey Lance. Open up,” Lance pleaded, not wanting to let his team down. “Okay, enough goofing around. I mean it. We gotta get out there and help the others.”

Still nothing and Lance fell to his knees, near tears because he was failing everyone else. He was failing the universe and the planet that needed to be saved. He was failing everyone and he didn’t know what he’d done to upset his lion.

“Oh come on. Why are you being mad at me? Wait, do you hate me now?” Lance asked, tears starting to fall as he crawled pathetically to reach the particle barrier keeping him from Blue. “I’m sorry for trying to fly the Black Lion. Everyone had to try. And I’m sorry for talking to her like I talk to you, I just wanted her to know that I do care about Shiro.”

He could hear how much his team needed him. They were in the middle of a fire fight and needed help, yet he could do nothing. He was stuck in Blue’s hanger not because he wanted to be.

Keith sounded upset too. Like he was getting mad at Lance for something he could not control. It wasn’t like Lance was trying to get out of a fight, he just had no means of getting out into the fight.

To his surprise Allura walked into Blue’s hanger, not right away but eventually.

“Lance, what’s wrong?” She asked, finding the tearful mess that was Lance on the floor beside his lion.

“I don’t know. Blue’s shutting me out,” He said, hiding his face so she didn’t see how devastated he was. “Maybe I’m not cut out to be a paladin after all.”

Suddenly there was a roar, that didn’t come from Blue. Lance spun around, confused. The only other Lion in the castle was the red lion.

“What was that?” Lance asked, hoping that Allura would be able to enlighten him on what was going on.

“It’s the red lion, you must go to it.”

“No way. I’m not the red paladin. Maybe it’s roaring for you,” Lance offered, it made more sense. He wasn’t impulsive like Keith was, he wasn’t cut out for the red lion.

“I would love nothing more than for that to be true, but I know the Red Lion is not meant for me. It is choosing you.” She reached out and wiped Lance’s tears away, smiling at him.

“I don’t understand,” Lance all but whispered.

Allura started saying a lot, but Lance didn’t hear much of is. Something about her father, and how he was now Voltron’s right hand because he accepted Keith as the new leader without question. It was a lot to take in when he was already an emotional wreck.

Hesitating for the briefest moment Lance picked up his helmet from the floor and ran from Blue’s hanger to Red’s he cleared his eyes the best he could before he got there, and waiting for him was Red, head down ready to join the fight.

Flying red was far different than flying Blue. She was smaller, faster and meant for evasion, versus Blue, who was meant to hit hard, moved slower and support Voltron. It was an adjustment to say the very least.

He ended up getting in more danger than when he was reacting slowly right after his suppressants wore off. It resulted in everyone having to cover his ass as he got used to his new lion. It was a lot.

When the fight was over Lance didn’t want to leave Red. He didn’t want to have to answer to what was going on, because he had no answers. Once again he was failing the team, and doing it in a new and spectacular way. The thoughts crept back in of doubt, of what if he wasn’t cut out to be a paladin.

Some time later Keith came to red’s hanger and unsurprisingly the lion let him in, he was her old paladin after all.

“Lance, what’s going on?” He asked, putting his hand on the other’s shoulder and scaring him.

“What? Nothing,” He said, quickly jumping out of his seat and moving out of the way.

“How are you? You took some hard hits in that last fight.”

“It’s fine, I’m used to it. I’ve taken hit’s before,” He quickly rambled on, backing up towards the door to leave Keith alone in his lion.

“Well, so long as you’re alright. I also came by to see if you wanted to come train with me. I know we just came out of a battle, but it’s been quite a while since we had time together on the training deck.”

Keith could see Lance was not okay. Could see it the moment he jumped away and as he tried to retreat. Something was bothering Lance, and as head of Voltron he had to take care of his team. More selfishly, he liked spending time with Lance and since Shiro had vanished they’d really had no time together.

Sure, it looked like Shiro and Lance were a thing before Shiro disappeared, and it looked like Lance was taking it all very badly. Keith was sure he didn’t have a shot with Lance anymore, but wanted to at least keep him as a friend. He didn’t have many friends and if he could hold on to a good one like Lance then that was all he really needed.

“I guess I could use some extra training,” Lance agreed, before turning and walking out of the lion.

Keith was confused for a moment, before catching up to Lance. Was that a yes? He wasn’t really sure, but he followed Lance to the training deck so he guessed that was a yes.

For a time, whenever they both had free time they would go to the training deck together. Sometimes they worked together, but others they worked on opposite ends of the deck, and that was just as good. It meant they weren’t all on their own.

Slowly that inadequacy Lance was feeling faded into the background of everything else going on. They were pushed aside by spending time with Keith while they trained. By the way Keith began to rely on him as his right hand man. Lance was starting to fall into his role as the red paladin and though he still felt better piloting Blue he felt needed in red.

Then, one day while they were out on a training exercise Black began acting strange and took off out of formation. All Keith said was that Black had found something, and they all readily followed after their leader.

Before long they came across a pod. One that had gone dark floating alone in the middle of space.

“I think that’s Shiro,” Keith said, flying ahead to get a good look at the pod.

It was too dark to see into, so he had Black carefully grab the pod and took it back to the hanger. Everyone gathered around as Keith landed and the pod opened up.

The pilot of the pod didn’t move and everyone quickly began thinking the worst. Wanting answers Lance moved closer and pulled the helmet off of the pilot and was greeted with a familiar face, who seemed to have fallen unconscious, but he was breathing.

It took all four of them to get him out of the craft and into a healing pod. As it turned out he’d just run out of oxygen and it didn’t take long for the pod to open back up.

Without hesitation Lance caught him and held him close.

“Shiro, you’re back,” He sighed, relieved that he was okay.

“It’s good to see you too Lance,” Shiro said, hugging the Omega back, but not nearly as tightly as he was being squeezed.

“Let’s go sit and talk,” Keith offered, placing a hand on Shiro’s shoulder to welcome him back.

As they made plans to move Lance buried his nose in Shiro’s neck. When the scent was off he did his best not to react. Slowly he stepped back and agreed they should move somewhere else to talk.

He wanted to tell someone, but couldn’t. Everyone was so happy to have Shiro back he couldn’t ruin that. Maybe it was just because he’s come out of the pod or because the witch had done something to him. Lance was unsure, but he knew something was wrong.

Everyone gathered around the dining table to hear Shiro recount what had happened. He had no memory of what happened after the battle, or how he got back into Haggar’s clutches. He was able to tell them how he escaped and all about the ice planet he had found himself on.

The whole team was hanging on Shiro’s every word, everyone but Lance. He was trying to work out just what had happened. What could have happened to change Shiro’s scent?

Close to an hour later everyone headed out to do their own things. Shiro was exhausted from his travels so he headed to bed. Hunk had something to do for Yellow and Lance decided to tag along to talk. He was still so unsure and was afraid no one would believe him, but he also didn’t want to just keep it to himself if it was something to really be worried about.

“Hey Hunk, if I tell you something can you keep it to yourself?” Lance asked, sitting on the floor beside Hunk’s desk.

“Unless you plan to hurt yourself or someone else than sure. My lips are sealed.” Hunk didn’t look up from his laptop, just kept plugging away at his work, but he was listening.

“Something seemed off with Shiro. When I hugged him he didn’t smell right. I know that sounds stupid, but he smells different.” Lance did his best to keep his voice low. There was little chance someone else was going to walk in and hear them, but he was still worried about voicing his fears.

“That’s something I can’t say I noticed, but my nose isn’t as sensitive as yours,” Hunk said, finally turning in his seat to look down at Lance. “But, it could also be because of something Hagar did to him or a side effect of the pod or any number of things Lance. It’s not that I don’t believe you, but I also think we can’t jump to conclusions.”

“You’re probably right. It’s nothing,” Lance sighed, looking away. He doubted himself, immediately reprimanding himself for bothering to bring it up to anyone. It was stupid. He had to be wrong.

“I didn’t say it was nothing. I said, give it some time. For all we know something could be up, but we have nothing else to go on right now. Just keep an eye out,” Hunk corrected, trying to stop Lance from spiralling. He’d seen it before when Shiro had vanished, he didn’t need something else to send him down a spiral like that again.

Lance just nodded and got up. He couldn’t do anything, so he might as well try to distract himself. Keith had said he was going to the training deck, and invited Lance to join him when he was done with Hunk. So quickly heading off to change Lance headed to the training deck to keep his mind and body busy.

Over the next few days Lance kept his eyes, and nose open. He really wanted to be sure of what was going on.

The most suspicious thing was when Shiro tried to fly the black lion, they all wanted to know if they could go back to their original lion. The answer was no. Black was rejecting him, which cause suspicion from Lance, but was apparently just fine with everyone else.

The next was the way he cut his hair and his shirt. A t-shirt, and not cutting his hair. That was strange. Shiro normally liked his hair nearly shaved in the back. It was the little things that bothered Lance and made him look off. Not the Shiro he had known and it was making him paranoid.

Then there was his scent. It was still off, not quite Shiro. Almost like it was artificial somehow.

He also didn’t spend as much time with Lance as before. After training with Keith Lance would go to the lounge to spend time with Shiro like before, but Shiro was either not there or wouldn’t take notice of Lance. When the Omega would sit on the couch kind of near him, silently asking permission like he did before Shiro wouldn’t react.

The few times he did react it was always with confusion.

“What are you doing here Lance?”

“Don’t you have work to do Lance?”

The worst was when he would just get up and walk out. Lance never said anything, wanting to fall back into their routine. Clearly that wasn’t working and Lance was only getting more suspicious that something was up.

Things couldn’t stay quiet for long. Eventually they had the comet to deal with. And Lotor and the generals. One good thing that came of the chaos was Pidge found her brother and more rebellion forces, it was one bright spot in the chaos of the universe.

Then Keith took off to be with the blades. Then the Voltron show, and Shiro took his place back as the head of Voltron. Everything felt like it was sailing by and Lance felt like if he didn’t keep running he would be left behind. As time went by he felt more and more isolated.

His next heat was rough, because he only had Hunk. Sure, Hunk did his best, but there was only so much that he could do. There was work that still needed to be done and planets that needed Voltron.

He wanted to have something scented by the alphas, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask Shiro. His scent was more distressing than calming since his return. And Keith was just gone while he was in preheat, so he didn’t have a chance.

It felt like a whirlwind of terrible and there was nothing he could do to pull himself free of it.

That first night after his heat had finished he didn’t want to be alone and couldn’t bring himself to bother hunk with something else. The beta had already done so much for him. So he went to Shiro, like he did after his first heat.

“It’s the middle of the night. Please go back to bed,” Was called through the door.

“Shiro, it’s me,” Lance called back, hoping that was enough to get him to open the door.

“Ok, Lance go back to bed. You need rest. Whatever it is can wait until the morning,” Shiro said.

That was the final straw for Lance. Something was wrong with Shiro and the next time he saw Keith he was going to voice his fears. If anyone would believe him he hoped Keith would, because he knew Shiro was important to him too.

For the time being though he headed to Hunks room. He didn’t bother knocking, Hunk had said to come in anytime he needed. So doing his best not to disturb the Beta Lance climbed into bed with him.

After Naxzela they had to slow down. After all nearly dying and losing Voltron they all had some reconsidering to do. Despite all that they had a job to do, a Universe to save. People and planets to save. They couldn’t stop for long, but long enough to hear Lotor of all people out.

According to the rebellion, more specifically Matt, things would not have ended nearly as well without Lotor. So despite their distrust they let him in and worked with him. What came as the biggest surprise was his lack of a secondary sex, despite being half-galra. He seemed to take after the altean side, which was for the best really. One less thing to worry about within the dynamics of the ever evolving crew on the Castle.

Most days Lance spent with Hunk and Pidge, or Matt if he was on the ship. More often than not the three of them were working on one thing or another and he would hang out in the corner offering suggestions where he had them.

Working together they were able to find Sam Holt and even get a footing on Olkarion. It was much needed progress.

Until the Galra attacked and nearly took out Voltron. If it weren’t for some quick thinking they would have lost the war right there, but when wasn’t that the case when it came to fighting the Galra.

What Lance couldn’t seem to get out of his head was Shiro. Shiro had called out to Lance while they were in the Astral Plane, and yet had no recollection of ever saying anything while they were there. It was odd, but again he couldn’t do anything about it.

Keith wasn’t around enough to talk to about anything that serious, and it felt like they were drifting apart. Like Keith was purposefully staying away to put space between himself and the rest of Team Voltron. It honestly hurt.

But with all that time Lance got closer to the Beta’s, until he eventually decided he couldn’t sleep alone and just invited Hunk to share his nest. It made everything a lot easier to bare, even when he was still feeling lost.

The next time Keith stopped by on the way from one mission to the next it was unannounced. He decided to surprise his team and arrived in the middle of the night cycle. He didn’t have long to stay, so bright and early he stopped by Lance’s room to check up on him. It had been a while and he still cared about Lance.

He knew the Omega tended to sleep in later than the rest, so he knocked anticipating on waking him. When no response came Keith let himself in to wake Lance so he could say a quick hello and goodbye before he had to leave again.

He did not expect to see Hunk curled around Lance and the two of them asleep in Lance’s nest.

“What the hell?” He shouted, surprising even himself at the little outburst.

It woke Lance and made him jump up and out of his nest, on guard in his blue pyjamas.

“Keith! What?” Lance shouted when he put together who was standing in front of him.

“Why is Hunk in here?” Keith asked, still way too loud for first thing in the morning.

“I invited him,” Lance replied, confused at the question. It was his nest. He could invite who he wanted.

“You know what, never mind.” Keith stormed out the door, offering no explanation of why he was there or why he was upset.

He didn’t bother sticking around to talk to anyone else. He was just pissed and had work to do. Angrily he climbed back into his ship and left.

It wasn’t until a varga later that he really understood why he was upset. He was upset he’d lost his chance with Lance. He’s put too much space between himself and the Omega and Lance had moved on. He just never expected Lance to go for Hunk when Shiro was right there. Maybe he’d been wrong before, and by not acting earlier he’d ruined his shot.

Keith went into his mission angry and tore up the place. Instead of doing things quietly he set his sights of destroying everything and anything that got in his way, and that he did.

The next time the paladins saw Keith was the Kral Zera, which was no place to talk, or clear things up. Besides, the whole time he was acting like a petulant child and refused to say one word to Lance. After that it was when he brought his mother to the castle, again no time to talk and tell him about Lance’s suspicious. Ones which were only raised further after the Kral Zera, but then again, Keith didn’t want to talk to him anyway.

Keith did stay for a night at the castle before he and his mother took off back to the Blade of Marmora. Mother and son were sitting in the dining room eating food goo when Lance walked in.

The alpha went to get up and leave, but Lance caught him before he could walk away and dragged him to a quiet hall to talk. Sure he could have broken Lance grip if he really wanted to, but Lance had a look in his eye that he was not going to take no for an answer.

“What the hell? You bust into my room, get mad at me and then don’t talk to me for several movements. I want an explanation,” Lance said, surprising himself with how forceful his words were coming out.

Keith ignored his questions in favour of asking his own.

“So you and hunk are together now? Would never have guessed that.”

“Is that what this is about? Hunk and I aren’t together. But at a certain point I realized you weren’t going to come back for an extended stay and Shiro’s not the same so I had to find someone who gave a shit. If you really must know, I can’t sleep on my own anymore. This war has taken so many casualties and one of them is the feeling of safety I used to have.”

Keith was not expecting that kind of response from Lance. He’s been expecting to be told it was none of his business or something the like. Not to have Lance yell his fears.

“I’m sorry, but I have a place with the Blades. I don’t really have a place here,” Keith admitted. If Lance could voice his fears, so could Keith.

“You do have a place here. Everyone would happily welcome you back. I sure will if you decide to come back, but that’s asking too much I suppose.”

Lance started to walk away, having gotten the answers he wanted.

“You’d really have me back? Even without a lion?” Keith asked, grabbing Lance by the shoulder to stop him.

“If you want her I’ll give you red back. You’re better at relying on your instincts than I am,” Lance said, offering a small smile.

“Have you been slacking on your training?” Keith asked, trying to turn the conversation playful rather than let it get sentimental. Sentimental was not his thing.

“I don’t have a good teacher. Maybe you should come back and show me what you’ve learned with those Blades,” Lance suggested, extending the olive branch to bring Keith back.

“After this mission. It shouldn’t take more than a movement,” Keith said.

“It’s a date. Stay safe.” With that Lance walked off.

Keith was frozen in place. He knew Lance didn’t mean it like that, but still. He would be sure to keep on schedule and get back to Lance. He would do as much as he could to make sure he didn’t keep Lance waiting.

After that the paladins were off to find Oriande and then were working to use the knowledge Allura had gained to make new ships just like Voltron. For Lotor to pilot. If everyone wasn’t so preoccupied with other things to save the universe they would have realized that something was going on there.

While Keith and Krolia went to the Quantum Abyss. That week separation was very different for them. It took only a movement for the paladins, and two years for Keith and his mother, but Keith didn’t forget his promise.

When they made it back to the castle, after reporting to Kolivan of course, Keith all but leapt out of the pod and ran to Lance.

“I’m sorry it took so long,” He said, hoping he was not too late. “I never forgot our plans.”

Lance was confused, it had only been a movement, he would hope Keith didn’t forget his plans. Except, Keith had grown a full three inches and his hair had grown. Something had happened and they had a lot to talk about.

“Keith, it was only a movement. What happened?” Lance asked.

“We have lots to talk about, let’s gather everyone and chat,” Krolia suggested, an Altean they’d never met before on one side and a blue and purple dog on her other side. Yes, there was a lot to talk about.

Several hours later everyone – except for Allura and Lotor, who had already left the castle – was filled in, and there was a new understanding. One that was clear, Lotor was questionable at best. That was something for everyone else to deal with. Keith had promised to train with Lance, and that was a promise he’d waited two years to fulfill. So they suited up and met in the training hall, letting the others deal with everything else for a short time.

“So, two years huh? That’s a long time,” Lance said as they took their positions before starting the training sequence.

“Yea, it was a lot. But I did get to spend time and get to know my mom.”

“That is really good. I’m glad you two figured things out.”

After that they didn’t say much for a while. Just calling out to each other what they were doing and when they needed help.

It was nice to fall back into that routine together. They had both missed training with the other, but despite all the time that had passed they fell into sync in no time. It was like they had never been apart.

“You have some new moves,” Lance commented when they fell to the floor against the wall for a break.

“Yea. Fighting for your life on the back of a space whale for two years will do that,” Keith said, tossing Lance a water pouch. “There’s something I wanted to ask, but it might come out weird. And if it’s a no then I totally understand and hope we can just put it behind us.”

“Just spit it out. You’re worrying me.”

“I like you Lance, I have for a while now. It’s just taken me this long to get myself together to talk to you. I know this is under very strange circumstances and it wouldn’t really be a date like it would be back home, but will you go on a date with me?” Keith asked, then looked away from Lance, worried he was going to be turned down.

Lance was dumbfounded. He was not expecting that from Keith. With all the distance he had been putting between himself and the rest of the team Lance was sure Keith wouldn’t feel the same way he did.

With that in mind Lance was also conflicted. He still had feelings for Shrio, or well the old Shiro. He didn’t know how he felt about Shiro since he had returned. Their leader wasn’t as affectionate and that was hard to take. He didn’t know what to do, so he just told Keith the truth.

“That sounds like a great time, even out here in the middle of a war. But if we’re going to do this you deserve to know something. I care for you a lot, I’ve had feelings for you that I couldn’t really make sense of, for a long time. That being said, I've also had feelings for Shiro too. Well, at least before he disappeared and they haven’t really gone away. I’m saying this, not because I’m turning you down, because I truly would love to go on a proper date with you, but because you deserve honesty,” Lance vented, hoping his baggage was not too much for Keith to handle.

“What’s different from before Shiro disappeared?” Keith asked, turning and smiling at Lance, though he wanted to know what he had missed being away.

Lance told Keith everything. Every little thing he noticed that was different about Shiro. From the first whiff of Shiro’s scent to his strange behaviours and even rejection of Lance. The Alpha heard every piece of evidence Lance had collected in the last several Phoeb’s. It was a lot to take in all at once.

“I will look into it. I believe you and I trust your judgment, but I have to see for myself. I just can’t imagine how we let an imposter in,” Keith said, getting to his feet and offering his hand to Lance. “Ready for round two?”

“You know it.”

Keith didn’t have time to look into what Lance had said, because before he could Shiro turned on them. He took off and Keith followed him alone.

The whole time they were gone Lance was worried sick. He didn’t want Keith to get hurt, not when they had just made up.

Thankfully Keith was safe, but he learned Shiro was dead. That was a heart wrenching blow, to be followed up right behind with their last battle with Lotor.

In the end they had lost everything and that was devastating. Allura said she could try to save Shiro, but there was no guarantee. They stopped at the first planet they came to and spent a long time gathering their thoughts and waiting for Shiro to wake up.

While they were there waiting Keith took Lance aside to talk just the two of them.

“So, maybe our date will have to wait until we get back to Earth,” Keith said, trying to be light despite the situation they were in.

“I’m okay with that, but maybe once and awhile, when we stop you can spend the night with me in red?” Lance offered trying to keep it light.

“Only if you join me in Black sometimes too.” Lance nodded and pulled Keith into a hug and rest his head on the Alpha’s shoulder. “I’m sure when Shiro wakes up he’ll be happy to see you.”

“And you. You know how much he cares about you too.”

“I’d say we should go back and wait with the others, but I’m also happy spending the rest of the day here with you,” Keith said, starting to sway them back and forth in a little dance with no music.

“Let’s stay here a little while. While we have the time to be alone.”

Keith couldn’t disagree with that logic.

It wasn’t long after they returned that Shiro woke up. It was a tearful return, but one they were all happy for. With the pod no longer needing energy and the Lions ready to go they packed up and set off for Earth.

“Keith, can we talk?” Shiro asked when the comms had been quiet for a while.

“Sure Shiro. What about?” Keith asked, keeping his eyes on the empty expanse of space around them to keep them on the course Pidge had set for them.

“Back when we were alone on that moon you told me something, told me about Lance. I feel like I should open up too, because I had a lot of time on my own to just think,” Shiro said, not noticing that Keith tensed up as he spoke. “Even back then I had feelings for Lance, and in all the time I had to just watch you all they’ve only gotten stronger in that time.”

“Shiro, stop. I already asked Lance out, and I’m sorry everything happened the way it did, but please let me have a chance before you swoop in,” Keith said, still not looking at Shiro.

Keith was worried. Lance had admitted to having feelings for Shiro, and hearing that Shiro had feeling for Lance scared him. He couldn’t lose one of the most important people in the universe, not when he’d just barely patched things up.

He feared that he wouldn’t even be a contender if Lance knew Shiro reciprocated his feelings. He knew Shiro was the better Alpha. Shiro had cared for Lance during his first heat and had been the comfort Lance needed.

Keith feared he wouldn’t stack up against Shiro if everything was put out there. He at least wanted to have a chance before Shiro swooped in. If Lance didn’t want him by the end of it he would respect that, but he wanted to give it his all, for Lance.

“I’m happy for you two, but you didn’t let me finish,” Shiro said, stepping up beside the pilot seat and putting his arm around Keith. “I’ve also watched you grow into an amazing guy and Lance isn’t the only one who sees something great in you. Dying I may have missed an opportunity with two amazing men, but if Lance is up for it maybe the three of us could go on a date.”

“How are you sure Lance would be up for it?” Keith asked, speaking the first thing that came to his mind because he was not expecting Shiro to ask him out mere days after he asked Lance out.

He knew Lance had feelings for Shiro, but Shiro didn’t. Keith was also beginning to question how he felt about Shiro in that moment. He had never considered it before, never considered the other Alpha as a potential partner. But for a moment he contemplated it, and could see it had the potential to work, if Lance was open to it.

“Before you became the black paladin, when everyone else was trying their hand, Lance said a few things. He thought no one was listening, and normally no one would be, but I was kind of locked to Black and the astral plane. So I heard him say a thing or two about the both of us, something we can talk about later.”

Keith didn’t really know how to take all of that alone. It wasn’t up to him to make a decision and he needed to talk to Lance.

“Hey Lance,” Keith said opening a private line to the red lion, where Lance was all on his own.

“Hi Keith, what’s up?” Lance asked, sounding surprised.

“Shiro has something he wants to ask you. He just asked me and I’m at a loss for words,” Keith said.

“Okay, Shiro what’s up?” Lance asked, wanting to know what was so baffling.

“I’m going to preface my question by saying I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I was stuck in the Astral Plane and spent a lot of time in the Black Lion. Meaning I heard what you said when you were in here. So, I asked Keith and I’m asking you would you both like to go on a date with me? All three of us, when we get back to Earth.”

Lance was silent. He didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t even been on his first date with Keith yet, how was he supposed to react to that.

“Lance?” Keith asked after close to two minutes of no response.

“Um... Keith, can you have Cosmo bring you here and let Shiro fly for a little bit? I need to talk to you. Alone,” Lance finally said, his voice shaky and unsure.

Keith looked over to Shiro, who nodded and Keith put his hand on Cosmo’s head. A moment later he was stumbling around the cockpit in the red lion. He walked up to the pilot’s seat and crouched down beside Lance, putting his hand on the omega’s knee.

“Are you okay?” he asked, seeing how distraught Lance was.

“I don’t know. What are you thinking about this whole thing?” Lance asked, voice still shaking.

“I think Shiro is being sincere and you were honest with me before.”

“Do you want to go out with him too? Because I don’t want to do anything we’re not both okay with.”

“Honestly, I’ve never been into Shiro. That being said I could see myself being with the both of you, if you’re open to the idea,” Keith said.

Lance didn’t say anything to Keith, seeming to mull something over in his head for a moment, before reaching out and unmuting the line to the black lion.

“We’d both really enjoy going out with you Shiro, under one condition,” Lance said.

“What is it Lance?” Shiro asked and Keith wondered the same thing.

“We don’t wait until we get back to Earth. We do something on the next planet we land on.”

“Deal,” Shiro agreed. It was the easiest thing in the Universe.


End file.
